TEENAGE YEARS - Part 4 - A Bike, Confirmation, Back to Indianapolis

It happened again, after posting about Alfred's school life, I found a class picture in front of the school. so here is the link back to that post. I am determined to get my photos in order, but not sure when that will really happen.  So now we are back to Alfred's AS I WAS story:

"It was about this time that my mother came back to Linton and worked for Dave Terhune and his wife doing general house work.  Mr. Terhune was quite a prominent businessman at that time and had one of the first automobiles in town.  He took me for rides occasionally which was a double thrill for me:  1^st the ride itself and 2^nd it was Mr. Terhune.  It seems to me that Mrs. Terhune and her young son, Dave Jr. went to California to live and mother then worked for the Dr. Knoefel family for a few years.  Some time while I attended common school I got my first Bicycle – a Peerless (Sears & Roebuck) 16⁹⁵.  It had no gadgets such as fenders, chain guard; not even the conventional coaster brake but never the less it was the first real thing of value that I ever got."

David Terhune was a prominent man in Linton, Indiana. You can read about him here. Did you know that Ancestry.com has the old Sears & Roebuck catalogs in their collection? Here the page from the 1908 catalog showing a Peerless Bicycle.

"Also while attending common school I went to confirmation class which was held in the 1^st Reformed Church 2 miles N.E. of Linton and joining the Sarons Church in Linton about 1910. I had my 1^st year of instruction under Rev. Lieckemper and was confirmed by Rev. Burkhart.  Well do I remember these class instructions every Saturday morning.  Anna Kramer (now Stoekel) would walk this 2 mile trip with me. There were six of us; Anna Kramer, Anna Reinhardt, Edith Stietelmeir, W^m Berns, Chas. Wills & me.  At confirmation I got my first suit with long trousers; also I got an Elgin watch (Gold).  So with a new suit, gold watch and a bicycle I was a real proud youngster."

Confirmation Certificate of Alfred Frederick Wilhelm Moehlmann
April 10, 1909
Moehlmann Family Collection

 Notice the certificate is in German. This is also the only place where I have seen Alfred with two middle names Frederick and William. 

1909 Confirmation Class Saron Reformed Church

The church where Alfred was confirmed is now the Saron United Church of Christ.  They have a hallway where all the confirmation class pictures line the walls.  

 "After finishing common school, Aunt Sophia got married and mother came back to the farm.  Grandmother Tendick was getting old and Grandfather Tendick had passed away.  But I do remember that I didn’t like the farm life too well and after graduating from Grade School I went to Indianapolis to get a job."  

There's a lot of information in that last paragraph. Alfred's grandfather, Peter Tendick died in March 1909. In the 1910 census, his mother, his Aunt Sophie, Uncle Will and Uncle Diedrich are all living with Catherine Tendick, the widow. It's interesting to note that Matilda is listed as a widow rather than divorced.

Aunt Sophie gets married in April 1911. So Alfred is 16 years old when he decides to head back to Indianapolis. I do find it unusual that Alfred doesn't talk about the death of his grandfather and wonder why, since he is so detailed about events in his life.

Several years after my grandfather wrote this story, I was confirmed.  He sent me a card and letter at that time and I want to share it.

  March 17, 1964.........And now we are sending you a little gift for confirmation. To me this [is] one of the two most important events in your young life. It follows a sort of pattern handed down to us by our ancestors. It centers around a word that we deal with all through life. The word is decision - The first decision you ever made and in fact that all of us make is when we take our first baby step and none of us remember that. As we grow up our parents make most of our decisions for us.   The first important decision your parents made for you was when you were Baptized. That is your badge that you are a Christian. The second is this, your confirmation. Now you are an actual working part of the Church. As the years mount up you will make many decisions on your own. But I am sure that these two will mean a lot to you in the years ahead. Even though we cannot be with you on this day in person, we will still share it with you when we see your two cousins confirmed. I still can remember my confirmation, because it meant that I got my first suit of clothes with long pants. So now Grand-ma and me wish you a lot of Joy during this Easter season.